Trump attacks federal judge who put immigration order on hold

Posted: 8:37 am Saturday, February 4th, 2017

By Jamie Dupree

Frustrated by a legal setback for his effort to slow refugee admissions and travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries, President Trump went on Twitter Saturday morning to blast a federal judge in Washington State who issued a temporary restraining order against Mr. Trump’s recent immigration order, labeling the ruling “ridiculous.”

“The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!” the President said on Twitter.

What is our country coming to when a judge can halt a Homeland Security travel ban and anyone, even with bad intentions, can come into U.S.?

The President made his comments from his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Florida, where he is spending the weekend.

It was the second broadside by the Trump Administration against Judge James Robart, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President George W. Bush in 2004, and confirmed on a vote of 99-0 by the Senate.

On Friday night, the White House used a written statement to label the judge’s decision to stay the Trump immigration order as, “outrageous,” then pulled back that word in a revised statement issued 15 minutes later.

White House issued two statements. First called the ruling 'outrageous.' Second version dropped that word pic.twitter.com/xpa2QUuFsF

The legal wrangling over a President’s executive order was a reminder of what troubles President Obama encountered over his own immigration actions in 2015, as those were slowed in the courts by attorneys general from more Republican states, and ultimately blocked by the legal moves of one federal district judge in south Texas.